"Divided by Three, Up and Down": Rule of Thirds

The most common "rule" of composition is the "Rule of Thirds".  As you look through the camera's viewfinder, imagine two vertical lines dividing the frame into thirds and two horizontal lines dividing the frame in thirds.  The four (4) intersections are called "Power Points" and placing your subject on one of these power points makes a pleasing composition. 

This photo of a fishing boat in Glacier Bay National Park is a good example of not only the "rule of thirds" but it is also an example of showing and giving perspective to a place.  The photo was made from the deck of a cruise ship using a Leica Digilux  3 camera.  I was hoping for a ship to pass between us and the mountains when I noticed the 40 fishing boat approaching from the bow and I only had to wait until it got into just the right place.  The viewer of the photograph sees the boat immediately and the eyes then look into the photograph to discover where it is going.  If a subject is moving be sure to leave room for it to move into when you frame the photograph.  This would also apply to a plane or bird in flight or car on the highway.
 
The photograph of the Greater roadrunner is another example of "rule of thirds."  I could have put the bird anywhere in the frame but this works best for me.  I also got down low, eye lever with the bird, showing another perspective, the bird's point of view.  This photo was taken in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.  The Greater roadrunner made it a point to show me the mouse he had caught and killed.  Camera:  Nikon D200 with a 300mm f/4 + 1.4 teleconverter.

Portraits of people, birds and animals, the rule of thirds can also apply to how you compose the photograph.  In this case you want to put the eyes down from the top of the frame about where the first horizontal line would be using the vertical format.  On some cameras these lines are visible in the viewfinder to help you find the power points.  This Magellanic penguin was photographed on Magdalena Island, Punta Arenas, in southern Chili's "Terra del Fuego.  Camera used was a D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

Here is a people portrait (head shot).  The subject is a gaucho at the La Fortuna Ranch in Argentina.  The eyes are about 1/3 of the way down from the top of the frame making for a pleasing composition.